And I'm back!

It hadn't been open long, but the mall was already bustling with activity by the time Starfire and Beast Boy arrived. One might have expected them to be swarmed by a crowd of fans, but only maybe a dozen or so people actually approached them; the Titans frequented the city often, and its citizens had gotten used to them walking around in public. Of course, there were always a few kids or more extreme fans that never got tired of seeing their favorite heroes. Thankfully, after a few high-fives and autographs, they were quickly left alone.

Despite having gone through every store in the mall at least a dozen times, Starfire treated every visit like a grand adventure. Beast Boy couldn't blame her; the massive variety of stores, stands, and restaurants must have taught her a whole lot about Earth life and culture. To an alien, this was sort of like a library.

"Where shall we venture first?" Starfire gazed around in wonder, unable to decide where she wanted to start.

"Hey, you know the place better than any of us," Beast Boy reminded her. He was fairly certain she knew most of the mall's employees on a first-name-basis.

He couldn't decide if that impressed him or terrified him.

"Yes but there are so many options…"

"Alright… How about that one?" He pointed to a random clothing store nearby. She gasped in excitement.

"Oh yes! I can see if Lisa is working, and I can ask her how things are with Brent and how school is going and if she ever bought that dog and…"

…Yep, definitely terrified.

What have I gotten myself into…?

"Too long… Too short… Ugh, too red…"

A lone girl was rapidly digging through a rack of dresses.

"I swear, nobody knows what fashion is anymore," she groaned, unable to find anything that suited her tastes. She scratched her head as she kept searching.

"Man I hate this thing…"

Jinx desperately wanted to throw the wig off, but that was obviously not an option. A little discomfort was worth staying off the wanted lists, after all.

"No, no, no… Hm…" She stopped as her hand rested on a dress. It wasn't anything spectacular, but its particularly green color had caught her eye. It reminded her of someone…

She scoffed, flipping past it. Green would look terrible on her, and she knew it.

I have got to stop thinking about him.

She had been wandering around for about an hour, and Beast Boy had continued to occupy her thoughts. She was admittedly getting tired of it, but she couldn't seem to get him off her mind. She couldn't help but wonder if he was having the same problem.

Oh get real, he's probably got tons of other stuff to deal with. Unlike her, he was actually had responsibilities to people other than himself. While she enjoyed the idea of someone falling for her like she was for him, it was wishful thinking at best.

"Falling for him"… Listen to yourself.

Part of her wanted desperately to find him again. Hopefully it would help her make up her mind about how she actually felt about him. But at the same time, she was scared; what if she decided she truly felt something for him? The prospect of trying to start another relationship so soon after the disaster that was her and Wally somewhat frightened her; hell, it was even with another Titan. And what reason did she have to believe he'd even be interested? As she recalled, he was caught up on that Terra girl, and then there was the possibility of Raven…

"Ugh…" she rubbed her forehead; all this "What-if" thinking was making her head hurt. She temporarily pushed the thoughts from her head as she returned to her dresses.

"Oooh… Here we go!" As she did, one finally met her expectations. She pulled it out; it had a simple design with black and pink coloration. It suited her perfectly...

She scowled when she saw the price tag.

"No way I could afford this now," she sighed, disappointment in her tone. "Unless…"

She looked around. Nobody was watching her at the moment.

5 finger discount?

Her jewelry robberies weren't the only crime she had committed lately; shoplifting had become one of Jinx's favorite past times. Thanks to her powers, alarms and cameras could easily be disabled and make it a very simple task. Granted, she never took much; some food here, some makeup there… Nothing ever actually noticeable.

She had the opportunity; this dress could easily be hers. She opened her handbag.

"This isn't you anymore…"

Jinx froze at Beast Boy's voice suddenly echoed in her mind, repeating his words from yesterday. She stared back down at the dress. It was almost begging for her to take it… But for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"No… No it isn't is it?" she said quietly as she slowly set the dress back. It was the first time in awhile had actually resisted an urge like this. "You just can't stay out of my head can you?"

"…How much longer are you going to take?"

"It's like you're right here…" She sighed, hearing his voice again.

"…Because I'm getting a little hungry and…"

She blinked. What was going on?"

"Only a few more minutes, I promise!"

"You said that a few minutes ago!"

Wait, who the hell is that?… Oh no… She gulped as she realized those weren't her thoughts. She slowly turned her head.

Sure enough, standing just a few dozen feet away were Beast Boy and Starfire. From the sounds of it they had been here for awhile; the store was quite large, so it didn't surprise her that she hadn't noticed them until now.

Her mind was racing as her eyes rested on the green Titan; he seemed to be somewhat annoyed with his partner, who had a stack of clothing in her arms. She couldn't help but grin as she stared at his somewhat pouting face.

He's so cute…

She gave up trying to stop those sorts of thoughts; she found him attractive, simple as that.

She managed to take her eyes off him as she looked at his teammate; for a moment, she felt a tiny bit of jealousy. What was she doing here with him? Wasn't she with Robin? Unless she… And he…

Her eyes narrowed. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she wasn't about to ignore this.

Time for a little espionage…

Beast Boy felt like he was going to die of boredom. He knew going to the mall with Starfire was going to be a rough time, but he didn't expect to be in the first store for over an hour. If she wasn't trying on more clothes, she was chatting it up with the employees.

Aren't they supposed to be, like, working?

Thankfully, it looked like she was finally wrapping up as she called out to him.

"I am all done Beast Boy! Did you have anything left to do here?"

"No, no, I'm all set!" He answered almost instantly, indicating his eagerness to leave. As the pair headed for the checkout, he suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his beck stand up.

"Huh?" He turned around, but noticed nothing strange. "Odd… I could've sworn I felt someone was watching us…"

He turned back, still somewhat suspicious. It could have just been someone in the store was staring at them for a bit too long, but he couldn't be sure.

The checkout was mercifully quick; the clerk seemed to be aware of Beast Boy's impatience, and kept the chit-chat to a minimum.

"Where shall we go next?" Starfire asked as soon as they were out of the store. Beast Boy kept his mouth shut, not wanting a repeat of what happened last time. "Oh, what about there?"

He mentally sweat-dropped as she pointed to another clothing store.

"Um… Starfire, don't you think you've gotten enough clothes for today?" He prayed she would see reason.

"But they have such different outfits!" She seemed insistent on going there. The changeling sighed. It was going to be a long day… "But if you wish to go somewhere else, I understand,"

"Huh?" He was surprised at her response; normally she was in her own little world whenever she came here.

"I understand if you wish to do something different; Robin often goes off elsewhere too," She smiled. "I shall call you when I am finished here, and we can meet up again,"

"Sounds good to me," Beast Boy was relieved to be set free; shopping for clothes was just not his thing, and he had meant to check out the game store at some point.

The teammates went their separate ways. As Beast Boy headed off, a figure emerged from the store they had just come from and followed him.

Jinx silently cheered when she saw the pair separate. While she was able to conclude based on their conversation that they were not together, she still wanted to talk to Beast Boy alone… Couldn't risk getting caught, after all.

As she pursued her target, she began to wonder what she would actually say when she finally approached. She wasn't even sure if he'd know it was her unless she told him. But she couldn't just bring up the possibility of a date; she wasn't even sure if she wanted that yet. But what could she start with…

You're over-thinking this, Jinx! Just act natural.

As she followed, she couldn't help but stare again. Granted, there wasn't much to look at from the back besides…

She shook her head rapidly as she moved her eyes back up.

Great, now I'm acting like Wally.

Beast Boy suddenly turned a corner as he came to an "intersection". Picking up her pace, she followed suit.

"Oh no you don't… AH!"

As she came around the corner, a sight made her leap back in surprise.

There it is again…

Beast Boy touched the back of his neck, still feeling his hairs standing up. They had been doing this ever since he left the store with Starfire, and it was making him uncomfortable. He turned his head just enough to see behind him just to confirm his suspicions.

Yep, still there… I'm definitely being followed.

He was almost certain the feeling he was getting was coming from a girl behind him. She had been in the store with them when he first started feeling odd, and she had been with him the whole time. She didn't look threatening; just a small brunette with some pink highlights, sunglasses, and a pretty standard outfit. A medium-sized bag hung from her arm.

He had decided not to make his knowledge of her apparent; he kept walking, pretending not to notice.

I could try to lose her in one of the shops… But I want to find out what she's following me for.

It couldn't have been a fan; if they were this persistent, they just would have run up by now. But he didn't recognize her from any of the villains he had fought.

…Could it be Madame Rouge? She could basically become anyone, but she was under extreme security; he would know if she had escaped. Kitten? This girl looked about her age, but she'd be after Starfire or Robin, not him. Who could it be?

He saw a turn coming up, and got an idea.

Alright, time to see what you want.

He made a sudden left, rounding the corner of a store. He moved a few more feet and suddenly stopped, turning around. Sure enough, the suspect soon came around the corner as well; her pace had seemed to quicken.

"Oh no you don't… AH!" It took her a moment to realize he was standing right there.

"Boo." He smirked, somewhat proud of his quick thinking. The girl quickly recovered from her shock.

"Oh man, you can't do that to people man! I almost ran into you," she scolded him, trying to put on an act. He wasn't buying it.

"Don't give me that," he said sternly as his smirk vanished. "I know you've been following me." He couldn't see her eyes, but could tell they had widened a bit.

"W-what? No I haven't," she stammered.

"Dude, you've been after me since we both left that clothes shop!"

"Maybe I'm just headed in the same direction as you. It's a big mall, you don't know!" She seemed offended at his accusations.

"Right, okay. And what was that just now? 'Oh no you don't'? And you were moving pretty quick."

"I… I uh…" She was struggling to come up with an excuse. "…Alright, fine. You got me," she confessed.

"Thought so. Now, who are you what do you want with me?" She didn't seem threatening, but he wanted to be sure. The girl cocked her head slightly.

"Really?" She sounded surprised. "Man, I knew my disguise was good, but not THAT good." She grinned as she spoke, apparently content with teasing her identity.

"Disguise?" He blinked in confusion. It looked like a perfectly normal outfit to him… The only things peculiar were the sunglasses covering her eyes, the pink hair streaks, and her…

…Pale skin…

He quickly put it all together.

"Wait… Ji-mmph!" Before he could finish, she slapped a hand over his mouth. She put a finger to her lips.

"…It's 'Jess', got it?" He nodded, eyes now wide as he was overcome with a nervous feeling. He hadn't actually expected to run into her, and now he was at a loss for what to do. As she took her hand off his mouth, he groaned.

"Dude, I'm so BLIND!" while that disguise would fool most people, he should have seen the signs. Hell, he probably could have sniffed her out if he had tapped into his animalistic nature.

"Well it wouldn't be a very good disguise if you could tell who I was that easily, would it?" she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah I know, I just…" He sighed, trailing off. "So… Why were you following me?" Now he was extra curious. What did she want with him now?

"Just wanted to talk. Can't a friend say hi?" She smiled innocently. Beast Boy felt could feel butterflies in his stomach; she actually wanted to talk to him?

"…Wait, just how long were you behind me anyways?" He suddenly asked.

"I didn't follow you all the way to the mall if that's what you're asking. I just happened to be in the area and saw you and Starfire… Which begs the question, why are YOU here?" The way she asked sort of sounded like she was accusing him of something. Almost like she was…

"Me? I, uh…" He glanced around, noticing people starting to stare at the two of them. "Er…You wanna find somewhere else to talk? We're sort of in the way." He had to admit, he was feeling pretty nervous about talking with her. All those thoughts he had been having were slowly creeping back into his head, and he didn't want to say something he'd regret.

"Sure, why don't we sit over there?" She pointed to a small group of chairs and sofas nearby. He nodded, and the two made their way over to a pair of chairs facing each other.

"Right, anyways..." Beast Boy began as he sat down. "You were wondering what I was doing here?"

"You didn't seem to be enjoying yourself," Jinx pointed out as she leaned casually against her chair. "Plus you don't seem like the mall type."

"Yeah, not much of a mallrat," he joked. Jinx rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile at the pun. "But seriously… Well it's a bit complicated. See, last night Starfire wanted to cook."Jinx pretended to gag; Starfire's culinary endeavors were known to pretty much every Titan. Beast Boy simply laughed. "Exactly. So the rest of us told a white lie and said we'd already eaten… We ended up ordering pizza a few hours later."

"And I thought I was the criminal,"

"Yeah, I kinda felt bad… Starfire really likes trying to cook," he put emphasis on the word "try". "And maybe she's making really good dishes from her planet, I don't know. Point is I wanted to make it up to her since she looked kinda sad about it."

"And so you agreed to join her here?"

"Yep. I knew it wasn't going to be that much fun, but she enjoys the company." He shrugged. "Plus it gives me another reason to get out."

"Well that's very sweet of you. Looks like you may be here awhile though."

"No kidding…" He laughed somewhat nervously.

Neither of them spoke for a moment as they simply looked at each other.

Even in that disguise she's still so pretty… Beast Boy was frantically trying to think of something to say. Should he just spring for it and ask her out? Did he even want to ask her out? What if she said no? Would she think he had just been treating her nice so he could hit on her? He imagined she didn't have many other people to talk with, and he didn't want to ruin what friendship they had going here.

But what if she said yes? He actually had no clue how he would react. There was so much to consider…

"So…"

"Oh! Sorry, zoned out a bit, heh…" The Titan nervously looked away; he realized he had just been staring. Real smooth…

Jinx smiled as the changeling looked down, his ears drooping slightly. She found his nervousness adorable. But what was bugging him? He seemed on edge ever since she had approached him.

Is it… Is it me? She didn't want to get her hopes up, but the idea that he actually found her attractive was becoming more and more possible.

Now it was her turn to be nervous; if that really was the case, what to do? She still wasn't sure if she was ready... But the idea of a date also excited her way more than any heist.

"Oh!" Beast Boy's voice snapped her back to reality. "I wanted to ask yesterday… If this doesn't sound too weird, where have you been staying? I assume you aren't with any of your old H.I.V.E friends, so…" There was concern in his voice, which she found somewhat flattering.

Has he been worried about me? Of course, being Jinx, she decided to tease him a bit.

"Oh yeah, I've got a great set up… A nice big box to keep the rain out, and newspaper makes good bedding, and… Oh god, I'm kidding I'm kidding!" She unsuccessfully tried to hold in laughter as Beast Boy's face became wild and panicked. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Seriously, I have an apartment!"

The Titan collapsed as he sighed in relief; she actually had him going there. His face turned bright red as Jinx's laughter grew.

"Very funny…"

"Y-your face… Oh god, I'm s-sorry but… Your face!" She had gone into a laughing fit.

Beast Boy felt rather stupid. He should have expected that from such a silly question.

At least she's laughing… He smiled slightly; it was such a pleasant sound.

"Heh… Heh heh…" For some reason he started to laugh too. Before long the two couldn't speak they were laughing so hard. Beast Boy wasn't sure what he found so funny; something about her laughter just seemed to put him in a good mood. After several more seconds, they started to calm down.

"Whoo… Oh boy…" Jinx took a few breaths. She hadn't laughed like that in a long time.

"That… That was kind of a dumb question wasn't it?" Beast Boy wiped a tear from his eye.

"No, I'm sorry I just... I don't know what came over me," she sighed. "I guess I'm just in a good mood."

"Why is that?"

"You, silly!" She flashed a big grin. "It's been awhile since I've been able to really talk with someone like this, and it feels… Well, really nice." She paused. "I mean I know we haven't said much but still, it means a lot to me," Beast Boy felt himself blush.

"Oh, well um… I'm happy to help!"

"And listen, I appreciate the concern. I really do. But I'm a big girl, BB," she said with a wink.

Wait, did I just-

Did she just call me-

Now it was her turn to blush. She realized how odd "BB" must have sounded coming from her.

"Er, sorry I…"

"Hey, don't worry about it… J," He grinned. She felt something flutter inside her as he said "J".

Another silence. An odd tension had suddenly filled the air; both teens' hearts were beating a bit faster than normal. It was becoming more and more apparent that the two of them had a mutual interest in each other, but neither one wanted to make a move.

Should I do it? Jinx was practically sweating. She couldn't muster up the courage; after her last boyfriend, she wanted to be sure he was actually interested.

Do I ask? What if she says no? What if… Suddenly, something in Beast Boy sparked. …You know what? Screw it. For a moment, his "inner beast" took command; he felt his confidence surge, all doubt leaving his mind. No more thinking; time for action.

He took the plunge.

"Hey, Jinx?"

"Huh?" She didn't seem to mind him using her real name.

"Listen, if you're not too busy later…" Jinx felt her heart stop. Was this is?

Oh god oh god oh god...

"Would you maybe want to…"

Yes yes YES!

"Hello? Beast Boy?"

"AH!" all tension in the air immediately dissolved as the two teens cried out in surprise. A third voice had joined the conversation, and completely ruined the moment.

"Beast Boy? Are you there?"

Beast Boy practically deflated as he felt all the confidence he just built up leave his body. He slowly picked up his communicator.

"…Yeah, I'm here Starfire."

"Excellent! I am all finished here and it is lunch time. Shall we meet at the food court?" Jinx frowned, realizing this was likely the end of their little meeting.

"Uh… Yeah, I'll be there in a bit. Beast Boy out," he sighed as he put the communicator down. "Listen, I'm sorry but I… I gotta go. I promised her I'd stick around, you know?"

"No, no. I understand." She paused, as if expecting something. "But you were saying something?"

"Um…" He looked down. He no longer had the guts to ask; Starfire's interruption had really taken the wind out of his sails. "It was nothing," he almost sounded defeated. Jinx sighed, realizing he wasn't going to finish the question any time soon. "But, um… I'll see you around some time." He started to get up.

Oh no you don't! Now her confidence swelled.

"Beast Boy," Jinx said sternly. "We both know what you were going to ask." The embarrassed Titan looked away; he didn't see Jinx pull out a pen and paper from her bag.

"I'm sorry, it was stupid and sudden and I don't know what I was-huh?" His rambling was cut off by the disguised girl flashing a piece of paper in front of his face. "What's this?" He took it from her; it appeared to be an… Address?

He froze, eyes widening as he realized what it meant.

"8 o'clock tonight sound good?" He looked back up at her, mouth slightly agape. Though she was simply smiling, he could practically feel her excitement. He gave a big, stupid grin.

"Sounds great! I'll see you then!"

This is really happening!

"Don't be late… BB," She winked once again before walking off, leaving a dumbstruck Beast Boy standing there.

Of course, the moment she stepped around the corner she dropped her façade.

"Oh my gosh, he asked me! Or well, he was about to but still! Ooooh!" She practically squealed. "I need to get home ASAP, it's such a mess! Oh, and I gotta get an outfit picked out, and… Oh, there's so much to do!" She was practically running for the exit at this point. For the moment, all her questions and doubts about dating Beast Boy were nowhere to be found; she was too excited to think about anything else... Not even Wally.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy had finally recovered enough to move, and was heading towards the food court. Like Jinx, he was trying to plan out what he had to do. He had to find out where this address was, for example. He also had to figure out how he could sneak out…

He couldn't stop smiling. He didn't know what was going to come of this, but that didn't matter right now. What was important was that he had a date.

And for once, Terra wasn't even remotely on his mind.

Next time: Date night! Hope you enjoyed!